2017

Body Type Fat

Heidi's 2017 solo exhibition Body Type Fat hung at the 315 Gallery (formerly the Washington Gallery) in Duluth, MN for the month of October. The show featured 18 pieces of her work completed over 2016 & 2017.

“Of Course You Lost to the Blonde Marathon Runner Married to the Baseball Coach”, 2016, Oil on canvas, 24” by 18”

“Play Dough Lady #1”, 2016, Watercolor & marker on paper, 17” by 11”

“The Unacceptable”, 2017, Oil on canvas, 42” diameter

“Peach Pits”, 2017, Oil on canvas, 42” diameter

“Play Dough Lady #2”, 2016, Watercolor & marker on paper, 17” by 11”

“Play Dough Lady #3”, 2016, Watercolor & marker on paper, 17” by 11”

Artist Statement

The constant painful message that my body takes up too much space has been heard loud and clear. It’s no secret that being fat can carry with it judgment from others. But fatness isn't a grotesquely self-inflicted deformity, it's just regular life for a growing number of people. As I try to hide from the fear of this judgment and brace against feelings of shame, I struggle sometimes to find my worthiness, and I’m left wondering about how perception of self and identity form for an individual.

Does fatness as a physical trait infiltrate perceptions of self simply because others are unable to understand that identity can exist without fatness being involved? And if this is the case, should this disconnect between physicality and perception matter to me?

I enjoy the challenge of figurative drawing. It requires hours of practice and I feel rusty when I haven’t been able to draw from life for a few hours a week. I prefer to draw from life as I start my pieces because to my eye, the resulting image holds more energy and volume than an image I've worked on only from reference photos.